In My Veins
by everybodybreaksaglass
Summary: After agreeing with Aria to see other people, Ezra begins to open his eyes to someone he had never noticed before. Aria/Ezra/Spencer love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

Nothing really mattered to her anymore. No matter how many battles she won, A always won the war. Spencer had always had one dream to hold onto; college. Now that Penn State had rejected her, she didn't even have that. All that Spence had in her life was Toby, and even he was slipping away from her. Spencer couldn't bring herself to focus on what Mr. Fitz was droning on about in class, she didn't care about anything anymore.

The bell rang, and Spence still couldn't bring herself to move. Movement required effort, effort which she wasn't willing to give. Bodies began to shuffle all around her, shoving books in their bags and filing out of the classroom. Spencer could feel her friend's eyes on her.

"Spence, you coming?" Aria asked, her voice light but shaky.

"Uh yeah," Spencer began to stack her notebooks, "I'll catch up to you guys at lunch."

Mona appeared out of nowhere, "Okay, we'll meet you in the courtyard."

Spencer resisted the urge to scream as the other three girls shared a glance with each other. Did they not see that Mona was the enemy? She always was, and she always will be. It was Mona's fault that Spencer didn't get into her dream college. She tortured them, and distracted them. Mona wasn't capable of doing good.

Spencer finally put her books in her bag as her three best friends walked out of the classroom, leaving her alone with Mr. Fitz. Just as she was about to stand up, he looked at her.

"You okay Spencer?" He asked.

Spencer nonchalantly brushed her hair out of her eyes, "Yeah."

She knew he didn't actually care. His students problems weren't his problems. But she hesitated before walking out of the classroom. Who would really be a better person to talk to? Her friends would all talk about her behind her back, about how worried they were for her. Toby would try to give her some talk about how amazing she was. Her parents would just be disappointed. Maybe Mr. Fitz not caring made him a good person to talk to.

"I, um, I heard from UPenn this morning," Spencer turned towards him, "And I didn't get in."

Mr. Fitz looked at her for a moment, "I'm sorry. . . I'm sorry, uh, are there any other schools?"

"Not for my family, no. I'll be the first one not to go." Spencer tried to blink away the tears that were forming in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I haven't told my parents and I haven't even told my friends, I don't really know why I told you so I'd just really appreciate it if you-d"

"No I won't say a word," Mr. Fitz assured her.

"Okay." Spencer nodded, not really sure of what else she could say.

"I've actually been asked to help out with college essays, so when you're ready to think of other schools. . . I'm here for you." Mr. Fitz said, "It's really important to have a second choice, even if you had your heart set on something else."

Spencer realized that he probably didn't mean college. Mr. Fitz had just broken up with Aria in order to take the teaching job. She couldn't imagine how hard it must be to see Aria in class every day.

"If I were you, I would actually apply to other schools right away," He continued, "You can email me the essay right away and we can work on it over the weekend."

Spencer nodded, "Thanks."

"Hey, Spencer," Mr. Fitz called after her as she turned to walk away, "It's their loss."

Spencer almost smiled as she walked out of the classroom. It had been a long time since someone had helped her for no reason other than to help her. Even her friends had something to gain by hunting for A and looking for who set the fire in the lodge. It felt good knowing that not everyone in the world was selfish.

As Spencer was walking down the hallway, her phone started buzzing inside her pocket. Of course Toby was calling her to check in. That's just perfect, Toby wanted to make sure she was okay and she would have to lie to him because she wasn't ok.

"Hi Toby," Spencer answered the phone.

"Hey Spence," Toby said on the other end of the line, "My boss just gave me the option to take Saturday off, do you want to have breakfast or something?"

"Um, I'm really sorry Toby, I can't," Spencer said, "I'm meeting with Mr. Fitz to go over some material that I'm behind on. Could we do something later on in the day?"

"Of course we can Spencer," Toby agreed, "Is everything okay?"

"Mhmm, I'm fine," Spencer lied, "I just need some extra help with everything that's been going on."

"Okay Spencer," Toby said, "I love you."

"I love you too, bye Toby." Spencer hung up, and leaned against a random wall of lockers and sighed. She wasn't technically lying to Toby, but she wasn't telling him the truth either. She just didn't want him to feel the need to share the burden with her. It was her mess, she could fix it.

The biggest problem would be telling her family. That was the problem with being a Hastings. You had your whole life planned out for you before it was even born. Spencer never even had the chance to differentiate her dreams from her family's. She was already so different from the rest of them; her life was far from perfect unlike the rest of them. Spencer wasn't some cookie cutter person, and she had always been proud of that, but maybe being perfect wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, first of all, thanks so much for reading this! I know it's a really risky thing to be writing about right now, but I know it's been said that all the girls will have new love interests this season, and I saw this happening the second Ezra first talked to Spencer in last week's episode, so I decided to go against my better judgement and take on a fourth fanfic. This is going to be T as of now but I might change it to M later on, so you have been warned (it won't be raunchy though, don't worry!) I'm not going to write the next chapter until after this Tuesday, to see if anything else interesting happens, but please leave a review and any ideas that you might have for me to put in the story, I'm open to suggestions! Thanks, Kathryn.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ezra Fitz was pacing around the desk on top of which Spencer was seated. In his hand was a printout of the essay that had failed to gain Spencer Early Admission to Penn State. His eyes scanned the words on the page, and Spencer searched for approval. It didn't really matter if he liked the essay, he was there to help her make it better, but she wanted him to like in anyways.

Spencer wondered if she would have gotten into UPenn if it hadn't been for A. If it hadn't been for A, she never would have broken the way she did. She wanted to believe that it was A's fault, that was what was easier to believe. But what if it wasn't A's fault? What if Spencer just wasn't good enough? Who was to blame then?

Her failure was due to a million things. A threatening her, Toby lying to her, the pressure her family put on her to be perfect despite everything she had been through. Maybe it didn't matter anymore. There wasn't a way she could change what had already happened, but she wasn't quite ready to move on.

Spencer watched as Ezra shuffled the pages and began to read the last one. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and his eyebrows were scrunched together as he scrutinized every word. Spencer thought about how she felt when she wrote it, just pouring her thoughts onto the page. She had given it her all and it still hadn't been enough.

**"**It was kind of a weird question for a college essay, discuss one situation in which you were right and wish you hadn't been? I could name ten." Spencer tried to make an excuse for her writing in case Ezra really did think it was bad.

Ezra stopped reading the paper, "Yeah well your high school experience hasn't exactly been typical."

"You hated it." It wasn't a question.

"No, no, I thought it was very well written, I thought it was very moving, I just. . . question whether this is something you want to share with an admissions committee." Ezra said.

"Why?" Spencer asked. Weren't those all things that made up a good essay? Didn't that mean she should have gotten in?

Ezra didn't answer for a moment, trying to choose his wording carefully, "I think colleges now more than ever are concerned with emotional stability, and choosing what to reveal and what to keep under wraps. . ."

"What should I keep under wraps? A friend of mine WAS murdered, I WAS bullied, I DID have a mental breakdown." Spencer glared.

"Right but nobody's asking for full disclosure. I think submitting this as is would be a huge mistake. Look, Spencer, if you throw this all out there your many attractive qualities might be overshadowed. Honesty may not be the best policy." Ezra looked into Spencer's big brown eyes and wondered how she could still be so strong and stand her ground after everything she had been through.

"So you want me to be somebody that I'm not?" Spencer asked.

"No, but you are more than this." Ezra tapped the paper.

"Yeah but I wouldn't be if it weren't for that! Why can't I just take a risk, and . . . and be real and I don't know, have a little faith that somebody who reads this will maybe be impressed that I left Radley and I'm not still there making crafts out of uncooked macaroni."

"No Spencer I. . ."

"No, when has being dishonest ever helped me? Or you?" Ezra stared in disbelief as Spencer spoke, "Or anyone?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Spencer was right. Being dishonest is what had failed his relationship. If he had just been upfront with Aria in the first place about his first relationship with Maggie, the strain his past relationship had put on him and Aria wouldn't have broken them apart. It was almost ironic, all the secrets, fights, and external troubles that they had survived in their relationship, and it was a stupid mistake he made when he was eighteen that ended them.

Spencer looked back at Ezra with an uncontainable fury. No, it wasn't fury. It was disappointment. After being let down by so many people, and failing at so many things, Spencer had hoped that Mr. Fitz, as her teacher, would at least try to sympathize with her. But he saw her the way everyone else saw her; broken and weak.

"I think. . . I should go now. . ." Spencer walked towards the door.

"No, Spencer," Ezra tried to stop her, but she was already gone.

That hadn't gone how he had wanted it to. Ezra knew that Spencer was strong, but he also knew that she was still broken when she had written her paper. He hadn't meant to make Spencer think that she was weak; that was the last thing he wanted. He just didn't want her to portray herself in the way he had.

Ezra realized that he cared about Spencer. After his relationship with Aria ended, he still viewed her friends as peers and people he could trust. He wanted Spencer to trust him as well, but that chance may have already been gone. As he heard her footsteps echo down the hall, Ezra picked up the paper that she had left behind, and began to memorize it, word for word.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I did not mean to take a month in between writing posting the first chapter and writing this one. I was waiting to see if anything else would happen between them, and the weeks went by so fast that I didn't realize I had people patiently waiting for another chapter. Thank you so much for the positive response I got to this story, I know it's an uncommon ship, but I think people are starting to open their minds to Spezra. Next chapter will start to stray from the storyline, the first half will be based on actual TV show evens but I'm developing them to be my own. The chapters will be getting longer as well! Stay tuned, love you so much. Xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer knew the second she saw Toby that something was wrong. She didn't blame him for being upset; the girls had found A's lair and it had been stolen, and they were starting to run out of clues or ideas. Something told her that there was more to Toby's expression than A hunting, however. Spencer knew that confronting him would only cause her to shut him out, so Spencer decided to let him come to her.

"Do you want me to make some coffee?" Spencer asked, as Toby walked over to where she sat at the counter and kissed her.

Toby curled a piece of Spencer's hair around his finger, "Aren't you meeting the girls for coffee later?"

"That's not for like another two hours." Spencer said.

"Spence." Toby looked at her with mock disdain.

"I love you." Spencer said, "You know that, right?"

"I love you too Spencer." Toby reached for Spencer's hand and traced circles over her palm with his fingertips.

A silence settled between them, but it wasn't their usual comfortable silence. It was normal for them to be content without even speaking to one another, but Spencer felt like there was something Toby wanted to say and was holding back.

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

"What is what?" Toby responded.

"You. What is wrong?" Spencer asked, "You're not telling me something."

Toby sighed, "You know how my mom died, right?"

"Yeah she was at Radley and she. . ." Spencer trailed off.

"Killed herself, it's okay, you can say it." Toby finished, "But what if she didn't kill herself? What if that was just a cover up?"

"Why would you think that?" Spencer asked.

"I got another A message. I was told I have something useful, and I could exchange it for information." Toby said.

Spencer crossed her arms, "Since when has A ever been helpful?"

"She's been right before." Toby defended.

"She?"

"It's always felt like a she," Toby said, "Hasn't it?"

Spencer nodded, "Toby, I know you're still looking for closure, but making a deal with the devil isn't the way to do it. I'll help you with whatever you want me to but I will not let you help A."

"What if it's too late?" Toby asked.

Spencer tilted her head to the side, "Too late to find out what happened?"

"What if I already gave her what she wanted?" Toby asked.

"No." Spencer whispered, "You didn't."

"Spencer," Toby plead, "I wouldn't have done it if I thought I had another option."  
"You always have another option!" Spencer yelled.

Toby tried to reach out to Spencer and she jerked away, "I need to know what happened to my mom! You know I would never try to hurt you."

"Since when has A ever told the truth?" Spencer asked.

"Spencer please I just wanted-"

"I know what you wanted! And I know that now that A has what she wants, you're not going to get what you want." Spencer's voice suddenly became calmer, "Well guess what Toby? You don't have answers, and you no longer have me."

Spencer stormed over to the door and opened it , cueing Toby to leave. Toby walked to where Spencer stood, and looked at her with tears in his eyes. He almost never cried in front of her.

"Spencer, please." Toby whispered, "Give me a second chance."  
"This was your second chance. Get out."

The truth stung like salt in a cut as Toby walked away. He knew she was right, he had already betrayed her once and now he had no right to be with her. Spencer just stared at him as he got into his truck and drove off, and sunk back onto her couch as he finally was out of sight.

It was one thing for Toby to join A in order to protect Spencer. But now he sold all the girls out, and it was because he wanted something for himself. Spencer couldn't believe it. Toby said he hadn't meant to hurt her, but Spencer knew that if he really loved her, he wouldn't have given A the trailer. Everything they had been was now over.

She hoped it was worth it; the answers from years ago. Clearly Toby was still mourning, but that wasn't an excuse. He also lied about it. Things might have been different if Toby hadn't kept things a secret, but after all they had endured, he still didn't know better than to lie to Spencer.

Spencer had told him to get out. The tears that filled his beautiful blue eyes as he walked away made it the hardest thing Spencer had ever done not to run after him. Now she was curled up alone, trying once again to find a reason to be alive. She was trying to tell herself that she did what she had to do. But it was hard to blame anyone but herself when she was the one that ended it.

Spencer's phone buzzed after what must have been hours. She groaned as she went to check the message, the simple motion being too difficult for her. It was from Aria, who wanted to know where she was.

"Shit." Spencer cursed to herself. She had completely forgotten about meeting the girls for coffee. For a moment, she considered making an excuse not to go, But in her heart she knew that the girls deserved to know everything that had happened, no matter how hard it would be to tell them.

* * *

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late I lost track of time." Spencer rushed up to Hanna, Aria, and Emily who were seated in their usual spot and had already ordered Spencer's drink for her. It was still hot, and Spencer closed her eyes as she felt the coffee run down her throat.

Hanna looked up at Spencer, "Woah, what happened with you? You look terrible."

"Hanna." Aria and Emily said flatly.

"What?" Hanna shrugged as they both glared at her.

"Toby and I broke up." Spencer said.

"What?" All three girls gasped, "Why?"

Spencer nodded, "He gave the trailer to A."

"No." Emily said, "Toby wouldn't do that. A must have set him up."

"Yeah well Toby did do that Em, he told me himself. It wouldn't be the first time he's betrayed us to A and it's about time we realize that he's not a trustworthy person anymore." Spencer said.

"Spencer he loves you, there had to have been some reason." Aria tried to comfort her.

Spencer folded her arms across her chest, "He had a reason, but it doesn't matter. He lied to me, and I'm done. Team Sparia is now single. Can we talk about something else?"

"Actually. . ." Aria mumbled.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"Did you and Fitz get back together?" Hanna squealed.

"No," Aria said, "And I'm not WITH with anyone, we just kissed. His name is Jake and he's my self defense instructor."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Emily asked.

"I wanted to wait until you were all here. It's kind of a big deal." Aria said.

"Um, yeah it's a big deal." Hanna said, "You break up with one teacher and move on to another."

"It's not like that, Hanna." Aria groaned.

"Well what is it like then?" Hanna asked.

"Complicated."

Complicated. That word seemed to describe everything lately. Spencer tuned out of the conversation, as she thought about everything that wasn't how it was supposed to be, and how she had to pretend it was okay anyways because no one wanted the broken girl.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter just flowed for me. I know the girls wouldn't have changed focus from A drama that easily but I kinda needed it to work like that for the plot. Anyways, leave a review! Some Spezra action next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Spencer handed Ezra a piled of papers that were stapled together. They were meeting for another session of essay revision, and this time Spencer had a brand new paper that didn't make her seem "broken" or "unstable". Ezra took the paper, and set it on his desk.

"Spencer," He said, "I read your essay over and over again. And I'm sorry. You're so honest in your writing and I think it's terrifying that you've been through all that you have at such a young age, but I'm astounded at how strong you are. Anyone who reads that has to love you."

"Really?" Spencer asked, "What changed your mind?"

"I read it just to read it, and I realized that the people who work on college admissions boards are just that, people. They'll see the same things in you as I do." Ezra said.

"What do you see in me?" Spencer asked, curious to know what he thought of her now.

"I see someone with terrible luck that handled it as best as she could." Ezra said.

"But what if my best isn't good enough? It wasn't for Penn State." Spencer said.

Ezra stepped forward, closing the gap between him and Spencer, "Look, Spencer, there are people out there who have perfect lives. They're smart, go to a good school, excel in sports, and colleges leap over them. But they've never faced a challenge. They wouldn't know what to do in the face of difficulty. Which student do you think is more impressive?"

Spencer opened her mouth to answer Ezra when her phone rang in her pocket. It was an unknown number, but it wasn't blocked.

"I'm sorry," Spencer said, "I should take this I'll be right back."

Spencer stepped into the hallway and answered her chirping phone.

"Hello?" She said.

"Yes, am I speaking with Miss. Spencer Jill Hastings?" A male voice on the other end of the line asked.

"This is, may I ask who's calling?" Spencer asked, unable to recognize the voice.

"My name is Arthur Black, and I work on the admissions board at the University of Pennsylvania," The man said, "It's come to our attention that the application we received in your name was tampered with, and the transcript does not reflect your outstanding performance in school."  
"I-I had no idea," Spencer stammered.

"We received an anonymous tip, and decided to investigate. Looks like someone really had your back this time, you're quite lucky, we would have overlooked this otherwise," Arthur said, "I'm pleased to inform you that after receiving the official transcript from your school and reviewing your application a second time, you are formally accepted to come to our school next fall. You will be receiving a letter in the mail shortly."

"Thank you," Spencer smiled, even though the man couldn't see, "Thank you so much."

"Have a nice day Miss Hastings." There was a click on the other end of the line.

Spencer practically danced back into Mr. Fitz's classroom. She tried her best to put on a straight face.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fitz, but I don't think we'll need to continue these meetings." Spencer smirked.

Ezra didn't look up, "What happened?"

"Well it turns out someone tampered with my transcript on my application," Spencer said.

Ezra's head snapped up to look at Spencer with utmost concern. She bursted into a fit of laughter.

"I got in!" She exclaimed.

"Oh my god, Spencer!" Ezra jumped up to give Spencer a bear hug, "That's amazing, I'm so happy for you. I can't believe it! Not that you got in but that someone would tamper with your application I mean of course you got in they'd be crazy not to want y-"

Spencer wrapped her arms around Ezra's neck and cut off his rambling with a kiss. She had no idea what came over her, but it just felt right. He stiffened, but then Spencer felt him relax and reach for her hand. She pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Spencer blubbered, "I shouldn't have done that. I mean. . . you and Aria. . . and. . ."

"You don't have to apologize Spencer." Ezra said.

"Yes I do. I mean what am I even thinking? I'm not that's what I'm thinking! You broke up with Aria so you could teach here and I'm just. . ." Spencer trailed off and averted her eyes to the ground.

"Spencer, look at me." Ezra reached for Spencer's hand again, and this time she didn't pull away, "Aria and I did not break up so I could teach again. That was part of it, but we had been together so long and our relationship was beginning to have so many problems that we never would have resolved."

"She's dating someone," Spencer blurted out.

"Exactly," Ezra said, "Aria's' moving on, so can I."

"But are you sure you want to-"

"I don't know what I want right now, honestly. But you're smart, you're beautiful, you're mature beyond your years. . ." Ezra said, "Honestly dating Aria made me feel close to all four of you girls."

"Really?" Spencer asked.

"Yes," Ezra nodded, "Spencer, I know I'm your teacher right now, but I'm not just your teacher. I've never seen you four as children, and I hope you know that."

Spencer nodded and Ezra stepped back to sit on one of the desks behind him. She stood for a moment, not sure if he was trying to create space between them or not.

"Is Toby still . . ?" Ezra asked.

Spencer shook her head, "No. He sold us out to A."

"There's a new A?" Ezra asked, "I thought Mona was the only one out to get you girls."

"Aria never told you?" Spencer asked.

"No," Ezra said, "We had a lot of secrets in our relationship."

"Oh. Well there was never just one A. It was a team of people. Toby was on it at some point in time, he told me he did it to protect me but now. . ."  
Ezra reached up to wipe away the single tear Spencer didn't realize had fallen. He squeezed her hand, and she sighed.

"Spencer," He said, "I know these people are dangerous, but you need to tell someone this is happening again. Not me, someone that can do something."

"You don't get it, it never stopped happening." Spencer said.

Ezra stood up and hugged Spencer gently, not knowing what he could do to make things ok. He realized that getting into college was never really the thing that was hurting Spencer the most, it was just the one thing she had control over. When he finally let go of her, Spencer forced a smiled at him.

"I should go," She said, and walked over to get her bag.

"Wait," Ezra pulled Spencer back to him, and kissed her again. This time their kiss was softer, not rushed and reckless, He wasn't sure how long it lasted, a couple seconds, a minute, but he pulled away when it felt right, "Goodbye Spencer, I'll see you Monday."

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry I took even longer than I normally do to update. I cracked my laptop screen and forgot to get my files off of the hard drive before getting it fixed. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! How do you feel about Cece being bad, or at least tampering with Spencer's application? If you were expecting sex, just let me explain why it's not going to happen for a little bit. I know this is m-rated, but I never like doing those fuck-me fanfics where people have sloppy sex. I feel like it's extremely unrealistic, and even thought people like reading it, I can never build a good plot. M-rated things will happen eventually, but a relationship will happen first. Xoxo, Kathryn.**


	5. Chapter 5

Spencer plopped down her bag at the girls' usual spot in the Brew, and sat down on the couch. Aria had called Spencer up Saturday night saying she needed some team Sparia time, and asking Spencer to meet her for coffee tomorrow. Spencer had already taken the courtesy of ordering Aria's favorite drink for her, and she took a sip of her own black coffee while waiting for her best friend to arrive.

The chime that meant the door was opened sounded throughout the shop, and Spencer looked up to see Aria. She waved and motioned for Aria to sit down.

"I got your soy vanilla latte for you," Spencer said.

Aria smiled, "Thanks Spence, you're the best."

"So," Spencer said, "You never really told me about this Jake guy. What's he like? Where have you been on dates."

"I don't think it's going to work out between us," Aria took a sip of her coffee.

"What happened?" Spencer asked.

"I don't know," Aria sighed, "Our relationship just isn't right. He doesn't like black and white movies. Or poetry. Or really anything that I do."

"So are you going to break up with him?" Spencer asked.

"I kind of already did." Aria admitted.

Spencer looked at Aria, "How do you kind of break up with someone?"

"I sat with him on my front porch, and told him about everything that happened with me and Ezra. He said it was okay if I'm not ready to be in a relationship right now and that I could call him if I ever needed anything." Aria said.

"At least you realized it before things got too serious." Spencer said.

Aria shrugged, "I don't think things would have gotten serious between us. It just wasn't right."

"So what now?" Spencer asked, "Are you going to talk to Ezra? What if he starts dating someone else?"

"I don't know. I love him, but I don't think we can ever go back to what we had. It's probably easier to move on than to try to fix something that's been broken too many times." Aria said.

Spencer took another sip of her coffee, and sat in silence for a few moments as her thoughts ran wild. She thought back to yesterday, when Ezra had pulled her in for a kiss. She wondered if that had just been him trying and failing to move on. It would hurt Aria if Spencer told her about the kiss. Spencer had never even thought about being with Ezra before yesterday.

"What about you?" Aria broke Spencer's train of thought, "Have you talked to Toby?"

Spencer shook her head, "It's definitely over between us. He's lied to me too many times. I could never trust him again."

Aria sighed, "How did we even get here?"

"I don't even know." Spencer said.

"It would be so much easier if I could blame Ezra for our relationship failing, but I know it's not all his fault." Aria said, "He kept a lot of things secret from me, but I did the same thing to him and I just don't think an entire relationship built on lies is meant to last."

"Whoever said 'the truth will set you free' was seriously misguided." Spencer said.

"Maybe they were right. I don't have to sneak around anymore." Aria suggested.

"We've been living in a web of lies ever since A appeared in our lives, and as much as I hate to say it I don't think anything is about to change." Spencer said.

Aria motioned for Spencer to be quiet and pointed towards the door. Spencer looked in the direction of her finger, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. There were just a couple customers in line waiting to order their coffee.

"What are you pointing at?" Spencer whispered.

"Do you see that brown haired guy over there?"

Spencer nodded, "Yeah, what about him?"

"That's Jake." Aria said.

"Oh my god, he's cute." Spencer said.

"Can we leave?" Aria asked.

Spencer shook her head, "You don't have to hide from him Aria. You went on what, one date?"

"Two," Aria said, "And then I broke it off."

"I doubt he has any hard feelings towards you," Spencer said, "It didn't sound like it, anyways."

"What if he tries to talk to me?" Aria asked.

"Then you talk to him. There's this thing that people do called have a conversation. You should try it." Spencer said,

"Shut up," Aria hissed. She looked back over at Jake, and Aria saw him catch her eye, "Oh hi, Jake!"

"Wait to sound overly cheerful," Spencer murmured.

Aria nudged Spencer in the side, and then stood up to meet Jake, who was already walking towards them, "This is my friend Spencer."

Jake reached out to shake Spencer's hand, "You're the smart one, right?"

"That's what they call me," Spencer said.

"What are you doing here?" Aria asked.

Jake held up his cup, "Getting my coffee."

"Right, it's a coffee shop, you're getting coffee." Aria said.

"Um, Aria told me you teach self-defense," Spencer said.

"Yeah," Jake said, "That's how we met."

"That's cool," Spencer said.

"I hate to ditch you guys, but I'm actually running late for something so I have to go," Jake said, "See you around."

"Bye Jake," Aria said.

"Look," Jake said, "I know we broke up, because you have a lot on your plate, but if you ever need anything, you can call me, okay? I mean it."

Aria nodded, "Right."

Aria waited for Jake to walk out of earshot before turning to Spencer, "Well that was sufficiently awkward."

"He seems really sweet." Spencer said, "I think you should give him a chance, when you're ready."  
"He is," Aria said, "It's just. . ."

"What?" Spencer asked.

Aria sighed, "If I start dating other people, then Ezra will think it's okay for him to date other people and I'm not ready for that."

"I thought you said that it was time to move on." Spencer said.

"I did," Aria said, "But I don't know if I'm ready."

"It'll happen eventually." Spencer said.

"But what if it doesn't?" Aria asked.

"I don't know, Aria," Spencer said, "I really don't know."

* * *

**A/N: Okay someone left me a review asking for Sparia fluff while I was in the middle of this chapter so I hope you like this I love Sparia, leave a review!**


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